Netizens are pouring scorn on AirAsia over a photo circulated online last night of an article allegedly from the budget airline’s in-flight magazine travel 3Sixty, deemed to be ‘insensitive’  to the MH370 tragedy.

A photo shows page 125 of the magazine, part of a three-page article describing past incidents where pilots have landed in the wrong airport and the technicalities involved in tackling the issue, including increased pilot training.

The photo circulated shows only the last passage which reads, “Training and Preparation - Pilot training in AirAsia is continuous and very thorough.

“Rest assured that your captain is well prepared to ensure your plane will never get lost. Have a safe flight!”

This came less than a month since the MH370 incident, where the Beijing-bound aircraft was mysteriously taken off-course on March 8 and is now believed to be somewhere in south Indian Ocean.

One of the earliest to raise the issue is a Twitter user under the pseudonym @Shamilf, who deemed the passage to be ‘tactless’.

“AirAsia, the world's best airline, populated and managed by inherently arrogant douchebags,” he said in a posting alongside the photo, which has been ‘re-tweeted’ (shared without modification) by 263 other Twitter users as of this morning.

“Are you for real, AirAsia (and AirAsia group chief executive officer) Tony Fernandes?” said another Twitter user @AyeenSalleh.

“Please be more considerate. What are you trying to prove anyway?”

However, a few, such as Twitter user @firdyfire, were more cautious.

    

"Is this a fake, malicious smear campaign against AirAsia?" he asked, trying to get a response from several other Twitter users such as the Ministry of Transport, its minister Hishamuddin Hussein, and Fernandes.

Offensive paragraph withdrawn

Many of the angry tweets are addressed directly to AirAsia and Fernandes’ Twitter accounts.

Fernandes ( right ) subsequently replied on Twitter that the magazine was printed before MH370's disappearance and the artcle has been withdrawn after being alerted on the matter after the uproar.

"Once again, apologies. It has been a difficult time for all in the industry." he tweeted.

Meanwhile, the AirAsia's executive chairperson and the magazine's publisher Kamarudin Meranun also expressed his apology.

He explained that the article's author Lim Khoy Hing is a retired pilot from both MAS and AirAsia, and writes a monthly column in the magazine as well as aviation-related books.

"As a monthly contributor, captain Lim prepared all of his articles months in advance before the magazine goes to print.

"Unintentionally and regrettably, the current issue carried an article that discusses about GPS (global positioning systems) and radars, which was printed a month before its issue date.

"We’ve addressed the issue and have improved our editorial approval process to ensure this does not happen in the future, and ensure that all content in the magazine is consistent with our brand values.

"Disciplinary action will be taken to the editorial team as well.

"We are removing the magazine from all of our flights on all AirAsia aircraft immediately. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the family and friends of the recent aviation incident," he said.